Published: January 09, 2009 02:12 pm      

Thorns & Roses

Roses

• To U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly’s congressional staff for lining up a replacement medal for Logansport resident Larry McDonald. McDonald, who earned the Bronze Star for his service during the Vietnam War, lost the medal in a garage fire. He contacted the congressman’s office for help, and the staff came through with a replacement that was presented last month.



• To the Logansport Memorial Hospital staffers who continue the annual tradition of recognizing the New Year’s baby each year. It took an extra day this year, but Rylan David Hart was born at 3:39 a.m. Jan. 2 to become the county’s first baby of 2009. He was also the first child of 24-year-old Betsy Hart and her 30-year-old husband, Jeff. The birth also underlined something else. The Harts made the trip from Howard County to have their child at the Logansport hospital, where Dr. James Van Curen practices medicine. That’s something not only the hospital but the community can feel good about.



• To former Logansport resident Joel Rush, who is among the contestants on an ABC reality show called “True Beauty.” Rush, a resident of Tampa, Fla., plans to move to Los Angeles soon to pursue a career in modeling and acting. He is among 10 contestants vying for a prize of $100,000 and a spot in People magazine’s 100 most beautiful people issue. Rush made it through the first of eight episodes this week. The show airs at 10 p.m. Mondays.



• To Vulcan Industries, which donated 800 tons of stone toward construction of the Panhandle Pathway from Winamac to Kenneth. That’s enough stone to cover about a mile of the 21-mile trail. Trail backers say they still need about $150,000 to finish the trail. Their next meeting is set for noon Jan. 15 in the Winamac Municipal Building.